


A Moment

by Sicklywrites



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Fluff, Shakarian - Freeform, Tumblr Prompt, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-14
Updated: 2015-10-14
Packaged: 2018-04-26 08:41:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4998190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sicklywrites/pseuds/Sicklywrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Reacting to the other one crying about something" prompt from Tumblr. Short and sweet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Moment

Garrus didn’t look over his shoulder when he heard the footsteps coming down the hall towards him. After all these years, he would have been ashamed of himself for not recognizing Shepard’s footsteps. Plus, nobody really came to visit him at the main battery.

“Shepard,” he began, thinking of all the things he should say to his Commander rather than his ‘girlfriend.’ The situation on Palaven, the last mission, the state of the Normandy’s weapons – but when she stood at his side and slammed her hand on the door’s controls to close them behind her, her other arm wrapping around his, he froze. Her head was down, which was unusual for her. She was the very definition of keeping one’s chin up.

“Shepard?” he said softly, his voice the only thing she really needed before tears pooled in her eyes. Behind the locked door was the only place she would allow herself to shed a tear, and even then it was hard. Even with Garrus.

“Don’t worry about it.” she said, her voice not breaking even as she cried. He sighed, almost grunted, in a _‘don’t be stupid’_ kind of way.

“I will, and you can’t stop me.” he said, moving her arm from his so she could give her the hug she needed. Their armour clunked together awkwardly as she leaned heavily on him, her tears now audible with the sound of a sniffle. It was only then that he’d confirmed it in his head that she was really crying. He held her tighter, finding the skin of her neck under his alien fingers and her soft hair, rubbing upwards in a soft massage.

By no means was he the warm, comfortable, and _familiar_ shape of a human, but that would never stop Shepard from holding him, nor the other way around, when he would curse the idea of having armour just for that moment. He figured that’s why she laid her hands on the softer parts of his body when they slept together, like the soft, speckled skin of his neck. She’d trace her fingers around each curve of his scars or run her thumb along the underside of his mandible when she was falling asleep, or even on the rare occasion where they could simply sit and enjoy one another’s company. He felt bad, really, that he didn’t have a whole body of softness that would fit perfectly with hers, but she never seemed to care, and she certainly never chose another – another human, asari, or even _drell_ \- over him.

She looked up with reddened eyes. It was a lot for her, who was probably in denial of crying at all.

“I just needed _you_ right now.” she said, eyebrows furrowing. _Says the woman that the whole_ world _needs,_ he thought.

“Stay in here as long as you like, Shepard.” he whispered, resting his turian lips on her forehead. “I’ve got you covered.”


End file.
